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MORE young women who say they were damaged by their time in
Mercy Ministries have come forward to tell their stories, as
further details emerge of the fundamentalist group's questionable
practices.

"I have been in the program, too: once in Sydney and the
other time at the Sunshine Coast home, where they kicked me out
when they caught me trying to hang myself, [saying] I was a risk to
their program," Melissa, 24, said yesterday.

"Their methods are harsh. You get separated from the entire
non-Christian world: no TV, no newspapers and just three, 15-minute
phone calls home a week."

Melissa, who did not want her last name revealed, said she, too,
began to harm herself in Mercy Ministries. Since she was kicked out
in 2005, she has sought professional care for depression, bulimia
and drug addiction.

"I went to another place, one that treated me like an adult and
helped prepare me to cope in the real world," she said.

"I saw a lot of girls come and go from Mercy Ministries during
my time there - many were in very extreme situations."

Another woman - a 24-year-old from Castle Hill who did not want
to be identified - entered the Sunshine Coast house in December
2004, after she developed bipolar disorder and tried to kill
herself. "Until this morning I thought I was the only one to have
been through this - now I know there are others," she said last
night.

She described "eight very long months of sheer hell" in which
she was prevented from using prescription medication to help her
sleep, triggering debilitating migraines. The staff refused to let
her have even the most basic painkillers to cope with the symptoms.
"These are only some of the times I was denied medical and
psychological help. There are many more," she said.

The Herald invited the former managing director of Mercy
Ministries, Peter Irvine, now its sponsorship manager, to give
contact details of young women who had successfully graduated from
its program. No response had been received last night.

But one graduate wrote to the Herald about her positive
experience in the ministry's Sydney house: "I graduated four years
ago from the Sydney home after having previously being diagnosed
with post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression and
borderline personality disorder. Before I entered the program, my
life was in danger - being in Mercy completely changed that
around."

Since graduating, she had completed a degree, was part way
through her honours year and has been accepted into a doctorate
program, she wrote, because of the lessons she learned in Mercy
Ministries.